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Predestination

Knowing the Future

The question of the Predestination of
the Elect concerns the matter of God’s Omniscience. God is said to be
omnipotent, meaning He is all-powerful and able to be omnipresent, meaning He
can be everywhere at once. He achieves His omnipresence through the
manifestation of the Holy Spirit in much the same way spiritually as
electricity can be sent to multiple locations at once from the same source
physically.

Omniscience can be defined as knowing all
true propositions. It is a matter of fact that people have been able to divine
the future over recorded history. The Bible records that the demons also are
able to prophesy and foretell future events (Acts 16:16).

God forbade that system to Israel. God said
through the Angel of the Presence to Moses:

Deuteronomy 18:10 There shall not be found
among you any one that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire.
Or that uses divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.
(KJV)

Yet God used the spirit of prophecy in
Israel through the prophets, and the prophets were consulted on the New Moons
as a rule to guide and prophesy to Israel.

Was this a double standard? No, it was a
regulated control of divination proceeding only from recognised prophets of
Israel as servants of the One True God. The demons also use prophecy to affect
the thinking of the nations that rely on them. These capacities are not simply
made up. They do indeed possess the capacity to view future events. However, their
capacity is limited in many ways.

An observer of times is an astrologer. All
the people referred to in the text in Deuteronomy 18:10 are associated with
systems that are not sanctioned by God. The demons lie almost as though it is
game to them. The oracles often played these sorts of tricks on people
consulting them.

However, God does sanction divination
through the Urim and the Thummin. In this way the Holy Spirit was able to
communicate with Israel in a recognised way while the Holy Spirit had not been
made available to the general populace.

It is accepted that
God planned the Creation and saw the end from the beginning, and declared that
end from the beginning. It is a declared position of the Bible that He is the
Alpha and the Omega (see the paper Arche
of the Creation of God as Alpha and Omega (No. 229)). He gave that
power to Christ on his resurrection from the dead.

The demons are not
omniscient but they do possess the facility to see the age and the process of
time. They see it only darkly but they can and do prophesy. They spend a lot of
time monitoring us, and what happens with the Church, and they, and the whole
Angelic Host long to look into the things that are revealed through us.

We are to proceed by
faith and that is why divination, except through a prophet of God in the
approved biblical manner, is forbidden to us.

God uses the elect to
accomplish His purpose.

God sets His servants
as “foreheads of flint” to the adversaries of Israel, and also often to the
congregation of Israel itself.

In the days before
the Church God raised up His servants the prophets to do His will. These
prophets, and their works, were known before they were even conceived. We know
that the prophecies of the OT were to be fulfilled often thousands of years
later, as we see from the texts in Genesis. Isaiah foretold of the Christ in
exact details, as did David in the Psalms. Revelation speaks of the Lamb slain
and refers to the term, “before the foundation of the world”.

These prophecies did
not just concern Messiah. God predestined Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 1:1-19 The words of Jeremiah, the son
of Hilki'ah, of the priests who were in An'athoth in the land of Benjamin, 2
to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josi'ah the son of Amon, king
of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the
days of Jehoi'akim the son of Josi'ah, king of Judah, and until the end of the
eleventh year of Zedeki'ah, the son of Josi'ah, king of Judah, until the
captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month. 4 Now the word of the
LORD came to me saying, 5 "Before I formed you in the womb I
knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet
to the nations." 6 Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I
do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth." 7 But the
LORD said to me, "Do not say, `I am only a youth'; for to all to whom I
send you you shall go, and whatever I command you you shall speak. 8Be not afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver
you, says the LORD." 9 Then the LORD put forth his hand and
touched my mouth; and the LORD said to me, "Behold, I have put my words in
your mouth. 10See, I have set you
this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to
destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant." 11And
the word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Jeremiah, what do you see?"
And I said, "I see a rod of almond." 12 Then the LORD said
to me, "You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform
it." 13 The word of the LORD came to me a second time, saying,
"What do you see?" And I said, "I see a boiling pot, facing away
from the north." 14 Then the LORD said to me, "Out of the
north evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. 15
For, lo, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, says the
LORD; and they shall come and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of
the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls round about, and against all the
cities of Judah. 16 And I will utter my judgments against them, for
all their wickedness in forsaking me; they have burned incense to other gods,
and worshiped the works of their own hands. 17 But you, gird up your
loins; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed
by them, lest I dismay you before them. 18 And I, behold, I make you
this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole
land, against the kings of Judah, its princes, its priests, and the people of
the land. 19 They will fight against you; but they shall not prevail
against you, for I am with you, says the LORD, to deliver you."

God made
Jeremiah a prophet, and predestined him before he was formed in the womb.
Jeremiah was not only to see the kings of the north brought down to encamp at
the walls of Jerusalem and set up their throne there, but he was also set over
nations to pluck up and to break down. God placed His words in the mouth of
Jeremiah and defended him and delivered him. He was also to prophesy against the
kings and the cities of Judah. Jeremiah was to utter judgment against the
nations of the north and against Israel. As prophet of God, Jeremiah was made a
fortified city, a bronze pillar, and walls of bronze, against the whole land
and the kings and the people of Judah also.

God knew him and
God ordained his works and set him as prophet against his own people, as well
as the Gentile nations. He was given power to pluck up and break down. The
Church also is given this power in the Last Days.

When exactly is
a person who is predestined of God determined in the mind of God?

Paul tells us
and so does John.

Ephesians 1:1-23 Paul, an apostle of Christ
Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are also
faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with
every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose
us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and
blameless before him. 5 He destined us in love to be his sons
through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the
praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

The One True God is the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ. He chose us in Him before the foundation of the World. That is
the katabole (SGD 2602) or laying
down of the world. In other words, the Bible says that the omniscience of
God extends to the absolute foreknowledge of the existence of not just Jesus
Christ, but of the entire lineages of the descendants of Adam, from the first
to the last, through all of their marriages and the matrixes of human
reproduction, with all its errors and mistakes and choices. That is the power
of God. The demons access this foreknowledge, as time to them is not a linear
proposition, but they often see linear times slightly incorrectly. They try to
interfere with this matrix to stop us being born, and continue to stop us being
baptised. They will try to unequally yoke us if they cannot kill us or prevent
our birth.

Paul goes on to speak of the redemption
afforded us in the sacrifice of Christ.

7 In him we
have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according
to the riches of his grace 8 which he lavished upon us. 9For he has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of his
will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ 10 as a
plan for the fulness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and
things on earth. 11 In him, according to the purpose of him who
accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 we
who first hoped in Christ have been destined and appointed to live for the
praise of his glory.

God’s plan is made known to us as it
concerns the fullness of time. In other words, He gives us the Mysteries of the
Kingdom of God, as they are to unfold in His plan. That plan and purpose was
set forth in Christ, and that plan is revealed to us as we are to serve the plan
of God. These things are according to God’s will and we were destined and
appointed to live for the praise of His glory.

Thus, we were predestined to be called and
given the Mysteries of God and to steward those Mysteries according to the
counsel of the Will of God, as revealed to us in the Holy Spirit for the praise
of His glory. Paul speaks of us having heard the word of truth, being sealed by
the Holy Spirit.

13 In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy
Spirit, 14 which is the guarantee of our inheritance until we
acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. 15 For this
reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward
all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you,
remembering you in my prayers,

Thus the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance. It is the testimony
of our love for the brethren. It is for this reason:

17that
the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of
wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes
of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has
called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19
and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe,
according to the working of his great might 20 which he accomplished
in Christ when he raised him from the dead and made him sit at his right hand
in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and
power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age
but also in that which is to come; 22 and he has put all things
under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, 23
which is his body, the fulness of him who fills all in all. (RSV)

The Church is the body of Christ, and God,
through the Holy Spirit, fills all in all. To this end, God becomes all in all.
We are given the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God so
that we understand the hope to which we are called, and so that we can explain
that hope within the revelation of God. God achieves that power in us who were
called to believe according to the power and works of God. The power was
accomplished in Christ whom God raised from the dead and made him sit at His
right hand. God set Christ above every rule and authority, and above every
name, not only in this age but also in the age to come. God put all things
under the feet of Christ and made him head over all things for the Church,
which is the body or Temple of God, which Temple we are. God knew us before we
were born and predestined us to be called.

What of those who fail? Paul deals with the
process in Romans chapter 8, where he talks about the Law and the spirit of
grace that is set upon those who are called.

Romans 8:1-39 There
is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the
law of sin and death.

That does not do away with the Law, but
rather sets us free from the problems that we face in trying to deal with the
weaknesses of the flesh in dealing with sin, which is transgression of the Law
(1Jn. 3:4).

3 For God
has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: sending his own Son
in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4
in order that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who
walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

The requirements of the Law are just and
are fulfilled in us. We walk according to the Spirit and not according to the
flesh, which is the distinction that Paul makes in dealing with the law and the
faith in the Spirit.

5 For those
who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but
those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the
Spirit. 6 To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind
on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the
flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, indeed it cannot;

Paul makes the comment here that the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile
to God, as it does not submit to God’s Law and indeed cannot submit to God’s
Law. That is the root cause of the problem concerning those who preach that the
Law of God is done away, or nailed to the stake on which Christ was crucified
(Col. 2:14). The “handwriting of ordinances” was the bill of indebtedness or
the Chierographon that stood against us for our sins in transgression of
the law.

8 and those
who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God
dwells in you. Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong
to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although your bodies are dead
because of sin, your spirits are alive because of righteousness.

So, those who are alive in the Church are
dead because of sin in transgression of the law, but alive because of the
Spirit through grace.

God raised Jesus from the dead. It is His
Spirit that is to dwell in us as the Holy Spirit of God. That is the Spirit
that gives life to our mortal bodies.

11 If the
Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised
Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through
his Spirit which dwells in you. 12 So then, brethren, we are
debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh -- 13 for
if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put
to death the deeds of the body you will live.

So the deeds of the body result in death.
We live according to the Spirit and so truly have life. Those elect who are led
by the Spirit are sons of God. They have received the spirit of the sonship.

14 For all
who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not
receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the
spirit of sonship. When we cry, "Abba!Father!"16 it is the Spirit himself bearing
witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if
children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we
suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

We are children of God and co-heirs with
Jesus Christ. We are to become elohim as he was given to become elohim,
provided we suffer with him so that we are glorified with him. Paul then goes
on to explain the process of this glorification.

18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth
comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the
creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God; 20
for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will
of him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself will
be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the
children of God.

The sufferings of the world that we face now are not worthy to be considered
when we look ahead to the glory of God in the promises held out to us as the
elect and children of God. The creation will also share in the promises held
out to us.

The creation groans under the oppression of
sin. We who have the first fruits of the Spirit groan as we wait for the
adoption as sons of God, which will be granted to us on the resurrection of our
bodies from the dead at the First Resurrection.

22 We know
that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; 23
and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the
Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our
bodies.

It is the hope of the resurrection that is
not seen that we were saved through grace.

24 For in
this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for
what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for
it with patience.

We wait for that in patience. During that
wait the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what to ask for but it
makes supplication for us. God searches our hearts with the Spirit.

26 Likewise
the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we
ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. 27
And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind
of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to
the will of God.

The will of God is the direction of the Holy Spirit in searching our minds and
hearts. Thus all things work together for the good for those who love God and
are called according to His purpose. In this is the key to predestination.

28 We know
that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called
according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also
predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be
the first-born among many brethren. 30 And those whom he predestined
he also called; and those whom he called he also
justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Here we see the sequence of predestination.

God lays down His plan for the Creation.

The Spiritual Sons of God are created.

The Spiritual Host are given free will and part of the plan is
unfurled.

The Physical creation is made.

One third of the Angelic Host rebels.

Christ has been predestined to be the Lamb slain from the
foundation of the world.

The Fallen Host interfere with the creation. It becomes Tohu
and Bohu.

Christ intervenes on direction of God.

Adam sins.

Lucifer is reprimanded and is given a limited time of six
thousand years as Satan or accuser of the brethren.

Christ is given Israel as part of the plan. It becomes his
inheritance as part of the promises to Noah and to Abraham.

Every person who has ever lived is part of the plan of God
contained in the mind of God. The elect are predestined.

As time progresses, each of the persons predestined to be
called are called according to the plan of God at the time that they will
achieve salvation.

In the process of calling they are taught and prepared in
justification through the Holy Spirit acting within the Church under
Christ as directed and justified by God.

When justified through Christ and the Holy Spirit acting
according to the plan of God, they are then glorified as sons of God
through the Resurrection of the Dead.

31 What
then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who is against us? 32
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also
give us all things with him?

The elect, who are predestined to be chosen
and called, do not fail. Hence the comment “many are called but few are
chosen”. God does not call people to fail. Some are called but were not chosen.
That is not held to their account. They will be raised in the Second Resurrection,
which is the time God had allocated for them to be called in the first place.

33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who
justifies;

Thus who is to judge us when it is God that justifies us?

Again, who is to condemn us when it is
Christ that has saved us by his ascension and his intercession? There is no
other possible intercession other than through Christ.

34 who is
to condemn? Is it Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead,
who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us?

There is no one that can separate us from
Christ and the love of God, except ourselves in sin, and then only to relegate
us to the time that God foresaw as the time allocated to bring us to Him.

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation,
or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36
As it is written, "For thy sake we are being killed all the day long; we
are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." 37 No, in all these
things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For
I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor
depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the
love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (RSV)

Paul outlined the whole structure of
predestination and the role of Jesus Christ and the Church in the plan of God.
In the same way God revealed the structure to Christ who revealed it to John in
the book of Revelation.

Revelation 5:1-14 And I saw in the right hand
of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back,
sealed with seven seals; 2 and I saw a strong angel proclaiming with
a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?"
3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to
open the scroll or to look into it, 4 and I wept much that no one
was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 Then one
of the elders said to me, "Weep not; lo, the Lion of the tribe of Judah,
the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven
seals." 6 And between the throne and the four living creatures
and among the elders, I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with
seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out
into all the earth; 7 and he went and took the scroll from the right
hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8 And when he had taken
the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down
before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense,
which are the prayers of the saints; 9 and they sang a new song,
saying, "Worthy art thou to take the scroll and to open its seals, for
thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God from every tribe and
tongue and people and nation, 10 and hast made them a kingdom and
priests to our God, and they shall reign on earth." 11 Then
I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders
the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of
thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who
was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory
and blessing!" 13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on
earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all therein, saying, "To him
who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and
might for ever and ever!" 14 And the four living creatures
said, "Amen!" and the elders fell down and worshiped. (RSV)

The elect are to become a kingdom and
priests and will reign on the earth. This is from the millennial reign of Jesus
Christ, and it will be from Jerusalem; and it is about to dawn on us. This is
the hope that lies within us.

Revelation 13:1-8 And I saw a beast rising out
of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems upon its horns and
a blasphemous name upon its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was
like a leopard, its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's
mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. 3
One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but
its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth followed the beast with
wonder. 4 Men worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority
to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the
beast, and who can fight against it?" 5 And the beast was given
a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise
authority for forty-two months; 6 it opened its mouth to utter
blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those
who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints
and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and
tongue and nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it,
every one whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in
the book of life of the Lamb that was slain. (RSV)

Note that the names of those of the elect
were written, before the foundation of the world, in the Book of Life of
the Lamb that was slain. No one dictates to God. No one gets in by the back
door. The elect were predestined to be chosen and called and hence justified
and glorified. That is why they are called the elect or chosen.

The elect are very often the weakest and
most despised in the world's eyes.

1Corinthians 1:26-31 For consider your call,
brethren; not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many
were powerful, not many were of noble birth; 27 but God chose what
is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world
to shame the strong, 28 God chose what is low and despised in the
world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29
so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 He is
the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom, our
righteousness and sanctification and redemption; 31 therefore, as it
is written, "Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord." (RSV)

God calls the weak of the world for two
main reasons: firstly, so they cannot (or are less likely to) boast that it was
their own talents, natural intelligence or goodness which put them among the
elect; and secondly, so that the wise, powerful and oppressive of this world
would eventually be shamed into repentance. If we are to boast at all it is to
boast or glory (Gk. kauchaomai) that we are of God (Jer.9:23-24; Ps.
44:8). If there is anything good in us it is His doing, not ours; and it is
God's Spirit that empowers the elect.

Zechariah 4:6 …. "This is the word of the
LORD to Zerub'babel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the
LORD of hosts. (RSV)

The elect or chosen are
called and given to Christ when appropriate, and they are allowed to endure
whatever it is that they must endure for the Faith and the glory of God. If
they are to go into captivity, then it is to captivity that they will go. The
elect are judged on what they do and those who seek to harm them will in that
way be rebuked.

Those who seek to kill them will be killed
in like manner. Those who seek to destroy them will be destroyed in like
manner, while those who seek to defame them will be held up to everlasting
shame.

Continuing Revelation 13:

Revelation 13:9-18 If any one has an ear, let him
hear: 10 If any one is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if
any one slays with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for
the endurance and faith of the saints. 11 Then I saw another beast
which rose out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a
dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its
presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast,
whose mortal wound was healed. 13 It works great signs, even making
fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of men; 14 and by
the signs which it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast, it deceives
those who dwell on earth, bidding them make an image for the beast which was
wounded by the sword and yet lived; 15 and it was allowed to give
breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast should even
speak, and to cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be
slain. 16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and
poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17
so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the
beast or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom: let him
who has understanding reckon the number of the beast, for it is a human number, its number is six hundred and sixty-six. (RSV)